Dear Barilla,
I am a member of the Allrecipes Brand Ambassador team and I manage the kitchen and food service for our local parish soup kitchen.
We have been doing outreach to our senior population and inviting them to join us for lunch to ensure they get at least one balanced, nutritious meal a day. They may not need us from a financial perspective but the opportunity to socialize really brightens the days of the elderly. We ask they pay what they can afford and some have been amazingly generous. This means I have a little more to spend.
During June and July the Allrecipes Brand Ambassadors worked with Barilla, a brand I have used since their products became available around here. They provided a list of recipes you had developed for us to prepare and evaluate for the promotion . As I started to select the ones I wanted I realized how well I could adapt several of them for the soup kitchen and serve cost effective, flavorful meals with eye appeal.
The first recipe:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thin-Spaghetti-with-Garlic-Red-Pepper-and-Olive-Oil is something I have been making since I first got married, but I never thought to add the red pepper which isn't overpowering, but really bumps this recipe up.
Next we had: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mini-Rotini-with-Carrots-and-Peas I did think this needed a bit more flavor than as written so I cooked the pasta a vegetables in chicken stock and added some minced garlic and herbs
We also enjoyed: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spaghetti-with-Broccoli-Florets-and-Traditional-Sauce Again, I thought this needed a bit of garlic, but it looks so pretty and I costed it out and with the discounts we get from our supplier an adult serving cost less than $0.33! Adding a salad and roll brought it up to $0.47.
And finally: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Elbows-Mac-and-Cheese-with-Tuscan-Herb-Sauce I did have to deviate slightly from the recipe, using some of the donated grated white cheese. Let me tell you, the sauce is the star of this dish.
My family also enjoyed: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/white-fiber-mini-shells-with-cherry-tomatoes-basil-and-parmigiano-reggiano-cheese This is so easy and so tasty. Equally good hot or cold.
And: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Elbows-Salad-with-Avocado-Tomato-and-Mozzarella This wasn't on the list we were working from, but is one of my favorites.
Thank you for the opportunity to think "outside" the box for our clients and to try varieties of pasta I may have overlooked for my family!
